Amazon is raising Prime membership prices for the first time in four years

Amazon had a good quarter, but costs are rising, so it's raising prices too.

What you need to know

Amazon released its Q4 2021 financial earnings with a 9% year-over-year increase in revenue.
Amazon announced that it is raising its yearly prime subscription by $20 to offset growing costs.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue rose 40% despite recent outages.

Amazon's Q4 2021 financial earnings were released on Thursday, reporting $137 billion in revenue — a 9% increase year-over-year. It is also a notable increase over the previous quarter's $110 billion, likely due to holiday shopping, particularly over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. That said, Amazon CEO Andy Jazzy highlights ongoing difficulties due to the pandemic.

"As expected over the holidays, we saw higher costs driven by labor supply shortages and inflationary pressures, and these issues persisted into the first quarter due to Omicron," Jassy says in a statement. "Despite these short-term challenges, we continue to feel optimistic and excited about the business as we emerge from the pandemic."

Notably, Amazon Web Services (AWS) saw a 40% increase in revenue amid recent outages.

Amazon also announced that it is raising the price of its Prime membership for the first time since 2018. Starting February 18, the monthly cost will rise from $12.99 to $14.99, while the yearly subscription will increase by $20 to $139 per year. Current subscribers will see the rise in price on March 25.

Amazon says this results from higher wages, transportation costs, and expanded Prime benefits, particularly as the company gears up for its long-awaited "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" series to begin streaming this September. The company also continues to build on its entertainment offerings with recent improvements to the best Fire TV sticks and more.

Developing...

Source: androidcentral

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